Pine View's Tiatia Pano celebrates making a two-point conversion as Pine View High School defeats Juan Diego in overtime on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

As I sit high above the playing surface in the press box at Rice-Eccles Stadium, my thoughts keep getting pulled like a magnet back to a very special football game that was played between Pine View and Juan Diego.

The first of two 3AA semifinals was a game for the ages and one of the best I've had the privilege to cover in 17 years as a sports writer. The history was there - the Soaring Eagle wreaked more than enough havoc on Region 9/3AA South teams from Southern Utah in the past and wasn't treating the Panthers any differently Thursday.

But with a future Division I-worthy player under center at quarterback in Kody Wilstead, Pine View wasn't about to roll over and die, even as they fell behind by two touchdowns at 28-14 midway through the third quarter.

That was strictly a warm-up act for the tension-filled dramatics that unfolded with the right arm of the 6-foot-7 Wilstead leading the charge.

The Panther junior did it with his legs, scoring on a 3-yard run that put his team on the board in the second quarter, then a 7-yard sprint to the pylon that got them within 28-20 after three quarters.

Then Wilstead's arm took over. He was 18-of-27 passing in the second half for 337 of his 402 total yards. He threw all of his five touchdowns over the final two quarters and overtime, and Wilstead's teammates were more than happy to come along for the ride to their first state championship game since 2007.

It was greater than the greatest roller coaster, more amazing than a David Copperfield magical performance. What the Panthers did was clearly awesome, awe-inspiring and nothing short of amazing.

Want a dose of awesome? Watch video on our web site of Tristan Duran's run to the tying touchdown on the final play of regulation. His hurdling act over a defender on the way to the end zone was a thing of beauty.

Want amazing? The Panthers had to rally from three different 14-point deficits to win and score three times in the fourth quarter to keep their season alive.

Maybe the Panthers were making up for Juan Diego's three death-defying wins over Hurricane in the 3A state title games of 2008, 2009 and 2010, but they clearly had their own agenda that was a winning one.

And as the Panthers wait and watch to see if they'll face defending champ Dixie or Desert Hills in an all-3AA South final next Friday night at Rice-Eccles, ponder this small bit of irony. Head coach Ray Hosner is winless in three previous state title game appearances. Hurricane's Chris Homer had suffered the same fate before the Tigers broke through and won their first crown in 2011.

But before that game happens, there's joy in abundance over what the fans who made the trek from St. George got to see. A Region 9/3AA South team is in the title game for the sixth straight season, and someone from the home front will be holding the big trophy for the third year in a row.

Pine View allowed Juan Diego 584 yards of offense. There were times Soaring Eagle receivers were so wide open, they could have read a novel on the way to the end zone. JD's first four scoring plays covered 68 (a Jesse Springer run on the second play from scrimmage), 44 (a Cole Nelson pass to Harrison Jones), 60 (Nelson to Chase Williams) and 48 yards (Nelson to Springer). But in the end, the scoreboard was all that mattered.

In overtime: Panthers 48, Juan Diego 42. Ghosts of title games past erased forever, and a memory no one at Pine View - or anywhere in Southern Utah - will ever forget.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports.

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The improbable is possible for Panthers

As I sit high above the playing surface in the press box at Rice-Eccles Stadium, my thoughts keep getting pulled like a magnet back to a very special football game that was played between Pine View